This West Philly coffee shop has a bagel-themed fall drink that’s a must-try
Little Bean, the West Philly coffee shop owned by the couple behind Cleo Bagels, has crafted a pumpernickel syrup — a new permanent addition to its coffee bar.
Just in time for fall, the drink of the season has arrived — but its creators caution, there’s no pumpkin here.
Little Bean, the West Philly coffee shop owned by the married couple behind Cleo Bagels, has debuted a pumpernickel syrup. It’s available in any coffee drink, but co-owner Alex Malamy says it’s best showcased in the form of a pumpernickel cortado.
The flavor is the newest permanent fixture on the shop’s list of housemade syrups, alongside chocolate, vanilla, and lavender.
“It’s not the ‘pump’ you were expecting,” Malamy, who runs the two shops alongside his wife, Ilana Silber, said. “It’s inspired by a beloved bagel that we don’t make.”
Pumpernickel bagels are too often a vestige of the past. They were created by Jewish immigrants in New York who combined their bagel-making skills with the ingredients for German dark rye bread. Classic American pumpernickel bread and bagels include additives like molasses, cocoa, and sometimes brown sugar to help enhance the flavors and color. Traditional German pumpernickel, meanwhile, relies solely on rye for its flavor and hue.
Because of their earthy, malty flavor and dark coloring, pumpernickel bagels are considered an acquired taste, and demand for them has dwindled over the years, despite bagel booms in Philadelphia and elsewhere.
These bagels also require more labor and ingredients compared to other classic bagels, including a blend of flours that typical base flavors don’t call for. In Philly, Bart’s Bagels is one of the few shops that offers the deep brown treats (along with a pumpernickel everything version).
At Little Bean, the pumpernickel syrup features a proprietary blend of the same ingredients that go into a classic pumpernickel bagel, ingredients Cleo and its sister shop already had on hand anyway: molasses, cocoa powder, coffee, and caraway seeds.
“The toasted caraway really does pair so well with the coffee,” Malamy said. The syrup was a monthslong work-in-progress, taking about six iterations to get just right. “It’s about getting the balance right of really bitter ingredients without being cloyingly sweet.” The end result is savory, warm, and cozy.
As the six-month-old coffee shop gets into its groove, Malamy says more inventive, bagel-inspired syrups, cold foams, and little treats are on the way. “We’re going for bespoke Little Bean and Cleo things that feel traditional but playful,” he said. “It feels specific to us.”
So, does a pumpernickel syrup mean pumpernickel bagels are also on the way? Not yet, Malamy says, citing Cleo’s modest floor plan, but it’s not entirely out of the question.
“If we were to do a pumpernickel, we would definitely take our time with it,” he said. “We like baby-stepping into things.”
Little Bean, 5015 Baltimore Ave., cleobagels.com/little-bean. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
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